Iran has detained a product tanker and its crew of 14 Asian seafarers in a smuggling case, according to TradeWinds.
Brigadier General Heydar Honarian Mojarrad, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Bushehr province, told Mehr News Agency that the unnamed ship was carrying 2m litres of contraband fuel.
The tanker was flying a flag from a country in Oceania, Mojarrad added, without specifying. The seizure was made off Bushehr early on Sunday after a court order was issued, he said. The fuel is to be handed over to the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Co as per the order.
Iran International reported Mojarrad saying the tanker was intercepted 60 miles (97 km) off the coast. The 14 crew members on board come from two Asian nations. The brigadier general said the vessel had been under surveillance since it loaded a fuel cargo. Its loading and discharge ports were not specified, however.
Action against smuggling on smaller tankers is a regular occurrence in Iran, where fuel prices are low.